# What words, when mispronounced, set your teeth on edge? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 13, 2008, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624 "2008-11-13T23:40:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2008, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624/121 "2008-11-15T17:50:11Z")
Nevada (my home state), the way people from east of the Mississippi River pronounce it (“Nevahda”). YAK! Give me that nice short, flat, West-Coast American “a.” Please. Also bad is the Easterner attempt at “Oregon.” It’s NOT “Orygahn.” Worst of all is turning my beloved Washington State into “Worschingtun.” YAK! ACK! GACK! ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2008, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624/122 "2008-11-15T19:24:36Z")
> [@Duhkecco](#): > > I thought it was more like “e-RAN”. > > Also, for Pakistan and Afghanistan (and all the other “stan” countries), I thought the last syllable was pronounced like the guy’s name, Stan, but I’ve noticed that “stawn” is common. > > What’s the preferred pronunciation? I thought it was “er-RAHN”. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2008, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624/123 "2008-11-15T19:29:27Z")
:mad: > [@Indistinguishable](#): > > Do you say Affer? Soffer? No? Then stop with the Offen. > > See, that’s the silliness of these “Well, you pronounce another word this way, so you have to pronounce _this_ one similarly” arguments. No, we don’t; they’re different words. No, they’re not different in that the “t” is silent (or was, until the illiterate slackers took over). Your point makes no sense in this context. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2008, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624/124 "2008-11-15T19:37:00Z")
Ed Sullivan introduced the BEE-ulls back in '63. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2008, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624/125 "2008-11-15T23:00:52Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > :mad: > > No, they’re not different in that the “t” is silent (or was, until the illiterate slackers took over). Your point makes no sense in this context. You pronounce “after” with a silent \? My point is, there are some words somewhat like “often” where the \ is pronounced and some words somewhat like “often” where the \ is silent. There’s no forceful reason that it is has to be pronounced like the one class rather than the other. Indeed, even if every other word anything like “often” was pronounced with a silent \, there would still be no forceful reason why the word “often” would also _have to_ be pronounced with a silent \ as well. Pronunciations are whatever they are; they aren’t axiomatically derived. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2008, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624/126 "2008-11-15T23:12:21Z")
> [@InvisibleWombat](#): > > Please help out this non-linguist and explain what you’re talking about with bird, horse, and wasp. They’re all pronounced pretty much as they’re spelled, and the pronunciations don’t vary much with dialect or accent. What are these other pronunciations to which you refer? Like I said, their pronunciations happened to shift a long time ago, before their modern spellings were standardized. But it’s just the same process as is now being attacked when it happens to other words. “bird” used to be pronounced along the lines “brid”, “horse” used to be pronounced along the lines “hros”, and “wasp” used to be pronounced along the lines “waps”. My intention was to point out that metathesis is just as common and unremarkable a process in etymological history as your example of “gradual vowel shift”. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2008, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624/127 "2008-11-15T23:28:31Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > the “t” is silent (or was, until the illiterate slackers took over). Also, so far as “often” goes, it’s true that there was a period when the \ was silent which has now given way to a period where the \ is often pronounced. But even earlier, before the \ turned silent, there was a period when it was always pronounced; ebbs and flows in time. You might just as well accuse those who originally lost the /t/ of being the illiterate slackers, and proclaim those who are now “bringing it back” as the hard-working saviors of the language. (“slackers” is such an odd term here, in line with the usual accusations of language “laziness”. I mean, is pronouncing consonants that others leave out somehow a _shirking_ of one’s dutiful exertion? It would appear to be, if anything, _more_ work. But, as I said, nothing in language is really work except pronouncing things somebody else’s way, reluctance to do so hardly deserving the connotations of sloth) ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624/128 "2008-11-16T00:31:53Z")
I’ve only heard this once, but the circumstances blew me away: In about 10th or 11th grade, my History class had a student teacher for one day - I guess she was about to graduate from college, and had to teach a few classes as experience. She was talking about, IIRC, [the Missouri Compromise](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri_compromise), and THREE TIMES she pronounced the word “comPROMISE,” like the word “promise.” Com-PROM-iss. A future History teacher in her last year of college. It was extraordinarily embarrassing. Joe ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624/129 "2008-11-16T00:45:07Z")
> [@wheresgeorge04](#): > > I’ve only heard this once, but the circumstances blew me away: > > In about 10th or 11th grade, my History class had a student teacher for one day - I guess she was about to graduate from college, and had to teach a few classes as experience. She was talking about, IIRC, [the Missouri Compromise](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri_compromise), and THREE TIMES she pronounced the word “comPROMISE,” like the word “promise.” Com-PROM-iss. A future History teacher in her last year of college. It was extraordinarily embarrassing. > > Joe Yow. That’s awful. But did she say Missour-EE or Missour-UH? I hear both of them around here. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624/130 "2008-11-16T00:58:11Z")
> [@InvisibleWombat](#): > > Yow. That’s awful. > > But did she say Missour-EE or Missour-UH? I hear both of them around here. Don’t remember. It was in NJ, so I’m gonna guess “Misouree.” I never heard “Missoura” until I moved out here. Joe ---
**Author:** ![bobkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c67d28/32.png) [@bobkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobkitty)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624/131 "2008-11-16T02:15:48Z")
As a transplanted Yankee living in the South, I’m in constant jaw-clench mode when talking to other people. There are folks I work with that I just don’t understand; the running joke is “Can we translate that into Yankee for our esteemed colleague?” “Look out the WIN - der.” What? “We’ll need a bag of SEE - meant.” No. No. No. suh - MENT. “I need to axe a question…” Really? The new version of “harassment” that arose after the Thomas hearings. I teach the workplace violence/sexual harassment class at work, and I start every class with “I don’t care WHAT you’ve been told; we use the old-world version of harassment here.” And a lot of others that have already been listed. The SEE-meant thing is near the top of my list, though. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624/132 "2008-11-16T02:23:00Z")
> [@bobkitty](#): > > The new version of “harassment” that arose after the Thomas hearings. I teach the workplace violence/sexual harassment class at work, and I start every class with “I don’t care WHAT you’ve been told; we use the old-world version of harassment here.” Huh? Is this about the two possible pronunciations of the word, or is it about something else? If the old world is Europe, they use the “Harris-ment” pronunciation (and have since well before Thomas), not the “Her-ass-ment” pronunciation, which is presumably what you are using. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624/133 "2008-11-16T02:29:13Z")
(Well, I should say, they _used to_ use the “Harris-ment” pronunciation, but they’re becoming Americanized…) ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624/134 "2008-11-16T02:45:53Z")
> [@bobkitty](#): > > And a lot of others that have already been listed. The SEE-meant thing is near the top of my list, though. Especially since they probably need a bag of concrete, not cement. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![bobkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c67d28/32.png) [@bobkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobkitty)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624/135 "2008-11-16T02:50:51Z")
> [@Indistinguishable](#): > > Huh? Is this about the two possible pronunciations of the word, or is it about something else? If the old world is Europe, they use the “Harris-ment” pronunciation (and have since well before Thomas), not the “Her-ass-ment” pronunciation, which is presumably what you are using. Mmm.. I should have been a tad more specific. The majority of my coworkers are 19-20somethings, and they use the term “old world” to describe the rest of us who are (in the words of one of my older coworkers) well out of diapers. The old-worlders pronounce it “hah - RASS - meant,” whereas the young’uns say it “harris-ment.” I acknowledge that either way is _technically_ correct, but I stand by my assertion that a goodly number of Americans switched over to the latter pronunciation post-Thomas.. everything points to a generational delineation more than a regional one. ETA: **freckafree** - _snerk_ Absolutely. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624/136 "2008-11-16T03:23:14Z")
For all intensive purposes… ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624/137 "2008-11-16T03:39:23Z")
EYE-RACK. Then again, nobody who speaks English says it right. Iraq in Arabic sounds sorta like “Eric,” pronounced as if you’re trying to hack up a sunflower seed. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624/138 "2008-11-16T06:52:42Z")
Off-ten. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624/139 "2008-11-16T12:55:36Z")
> [@Indistinguishable](#): > > Also, so far as “often” goes, it’s true that there was a period when the \ was silent which has now given way to a period where the \ is often pronounced. But even earlier, before the \ turned silent, there was a period when it was always pronounced; ebbs and flows in time. You might just as well accuse those who originally lost the /t/ of being the illiterate slackers, and proclaim those who are now “bringing it back” as the hard-working saviors of the language. > > (“slackers” is such an odd term here, in line with the usual accusations of language “laziness”. I mean, is pronouncing consonants that others leave out somehow a _shirking_ of one’s dutiful exertion? It would appear to be, if anything, _more_ work. But, as I said, nothing in language is really work except pronouncing things somebody else’s way, reluctance to do so hardly deserving the connotations of sloth) The slacker part comes in when they read the word, hear it pronounced most often without the “t” and don’t bother to look up and use the preferred pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624/140 "2008-11-16T13:23:30Z")
A) On what grounds do you assume that these people hear it pronounced most often without the /t/? People generally absorb their pronunciations unconsciously from the pronunciations common in the speech communities around them, so it is highly likely that anyone who pronounces the /t/ grew up around other people who generally pronounced the /t/ B) What’s this about “look up… the preferred pronunciation”? Have _you_ looked it up? Every major dictionary lists both pronunciations. (Besides, this is an odd duty to impose; the vast majority of words in anyone’s vocabulary are ones they’ve never looked up in a dictionary. You only go to a dictionary when you have some reason to, and considering A), such reason isn’t generally present here.) C) Given A) and B), why _should_ they shift their pronunciation? It’s hardly condemnable laziness to not engage in pointless remoulding. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-when-mispronounced-set-your-teeth-on-edge/472624.md?page=8)